Thanks, @prydefoltz! Common names are behind all the saffron confusion. Saffron comes from a crocus that blooms in the autumn, rather than the spring. So it gets called the Autumn Crocus. It's Crocus sativus. But there is another plant that is called the Autumn Crocus, too. Even though it's not really a crocus. Even worse, it's also called the Meadow Saffron! It's the Colchicum autumnale -- also called Naked Ladies because the flowers come up before the leaves. Their flowers are pink, but I don't have any of my own photos of them. I'll have to ask my mom, because there are a lot in her yard down in Arkansas.

Even though there's confusion with saffron the spice, the people getting poisoned by the Colchicum are mistaking it for the wild garlics, wild leeks, and ramps that have wide leaves in the springtime. People die from eating the leaves. It's a regular occurrence. Here's a picture of the real Saffron Crocus: